The Marshmallow
by Silver Sniper
Summary: Gippal watches as Rikku repeatedly burns her marshmallows. He decides to give her a little lesson...


FFX-2 © Square… something that I must have forgotten…

Rikku is 14, Gippal is 15. Something like that.

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"Hey, Cid's girl, you awake, 'cuz that poor white thing's burning up fast."

"Eeep!"

Rikku, under the clouding laughter coming from Gippal, quickly withdrew her stick that once held a white marshmallow, but was now was nothing more than some a hunk of ash on fire.

"Aaah!" Rikku gasped as she waved the flaming stick around, hoping it would go out.

"Watch it, Cid's girl, it's only going to make the flame bigger," Gippal laughed in a singsong voice, and indeed it did. Rikku gave out a terrified shriek as she threw the stick at Gippal, who despite doubling over in amusement and laughter, managed to catch it and casually put the flame out. "Are you really that pathetic, _Rikku_?"

"Oh! Meanie!" Rikku huffed as she took a spare stick and fitted a marshmallow onto it once again. Toasting one of them seemed awfully hard for some reason, and Gippal's presence didn't exactly help one bit.

"Sorry," he shrugged as he leisurely took a seat by Rikku, who scowled a bit, but didn't mind much besides that. They sat in silence, watching the flames dance and wrap themselves, lashing themselves onto the white marshmallow, as if they wanted to kill it. They did.

"Take it out."

"Huh?"

"The marshmallow, dumb-dumb, you burned it, again."

Rikku groaned as she withdrew the hunk of ash from the fiery hearth, displeased at how she managed to once again, burn it. Studying it's rigid features for a moment, she winced, but nonetheless, popped it into her mouth. The taste was horrid. Gippal could hardly contain an amused smile.

"Eating burned cinders, are we?" he inquired as Rikku swallowed. Why she did it, she didn't really know. Perhaps it was to show Gippal that she wasn't afraid to eat it. Perhaps it was because of some unknown compulsion. Or perhaps it was that only three marshmallows remained in her bag, and she really didn't want to waste them. Yeah, that last one seemed right.

"Go on, try again, I'll help," Gippal told her in a cocky attitude. Rikku glowered for a moment, but nonetheless, took another marshmallow from her bag, set it upon the stick, and was about to stick it in the fire when…

"Hold it right there," Gippal said as he caught her wrist. "If you're going to stick in directly in that fire again, you're only dooming the poor thing."

"Well, than how would you do it, Mr. 'I'm-So-Great-At-EVERYTHING'," Rikku chirped as Gippal released his grip.

"Why thank you for the compliment," Gippal dished out smoothly, causing Rikku to grumble. "Well, first, you might want to try placing it _near_, not _in the_ fire."

"Okay," Rikku agreed as she stuck it near the fire and waited, and waited, and waited… "Gippal, it's not doing anything."

"Yeah it is," Gippal answered, trying to muffle a snicker. "It's burning."

Rikku furrowed her eyebrows. The marshmallow looked regular enough. It was still white as far as she was concerned. "No it isn't!"

"Yes it is, turn it over," Gippal commanded in an arrogant 'I-Know-Everything' tone. Rikku obeyed, slowly rotating to marshmallow.

"It's not burned!" Rikku pushed, despite that she was once again looking at a hunk of black ash. "It's… it's…"

"Half-burned?" Gippal supplied.

"Yeah! …Hey!" Rikku snapped her head at him, wanting to tell him off for tricking her, only to find him stealing a plushy marshmallow from her bag and sticking it on a stick.

"Watch and follow the master!" Gippal announced dramatically. Rikku reluctantly followed, only because she really wanted to actually get a marshmallow down her throat.

Gippal stuck the marshmallow near the fire, slowly rotating it. Rikku followed in suite. "There you go," Gippal told Rikku, who couldn't help but smile. She was doing it! She was actually doing it!

"Really now, you're a bit slow, aren't you?" Gippal sighed suddenly. Rikku looked at him with a confused face. She had done everything her did, so what was the problem? Then her eyes widened. On his stick sat a nicely roasted marshmallow with a light brown skin, already withdrawn from the flames, and hers was… still there.

"Gippal!" she roared as she quickly pulled out her black material. That was it. That was her last marshmallow. There was no more, unless she'd walk all the way back to Home to retrieve more, but by the time she made it back to the oasis where everyone else were currently camping out, it would probably be morning. She couldn't believe it. She really couldn't. All that for nothing.

"Now, don't be mad!" Gippal cooed as he plucked the treat off of his stick. Rikku sniffed, looking at it as if it were both a blessing (oh, how she wanted the thing), and a curse (how Gippal managed to get it, not her) before throwing down her stick and heading back to her tent.

"Hey, wait!" Gippal called to her, catching her wrist once again and pulled her towards him.

"Wha- mmf!" Rikku blinked in confusion, but as a slow sweetness began tickling her taste buds, she realized what Gippal had suddenly stuck into her mouth in haste. Gippal couldn't help but smirk as Rikku's eyes wandered to his hands, which now held the piece of ash she had previously threw down.

"Oh well, I suppose ash isn't all that bad," Gippal sighed with a smile as he popped it into his mouth and walked off, leaving Rikku standing there blinking and trying to digest everything, literally, and mentally.

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It seemed idiotic, but oh well, hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading this piece.

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